Guy Ritchie to Direct Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes

Fresh from this summer's success in Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. is in final talks to star as the great English detective in Sherlock Holmes – to be directed by Guy Ritchie, whose been making headlines himself lately, concerning the status of his marriage to Madonna.

The Warner Bros. release, due to start shooting this fall, will show Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's hero in a less stuffy vein than in his previous incarnations, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Not that Downey will be the only versatile actor to don Holmes's stalking cap and coat cape.

Columbia Pictures recently announced that Judd Apatow would produce a comic take on Holmes, to star Borat's Sacha Baron Cohen as the super sleuth, and Will Ferrell as his sidekick, Dr. Watson. – Stephen M. Silverman